Buckingham Fountain Chicago Photographs

Friedman Fine Art offers a marvelous selection of historical and contemporary photographs taken by Chicago photographers. In the center of Grant Park, Chicago, Buckingham Fountain is one of the largest fountains in the world. It runs until 11 pm, from April to October, producing a major water display with a center jet that shoots 150 feet into the air. At dusk, the Fountain’s water display is accompanied by a light and music show. During the winter, the fountain is decorated with festival lights.

Marvelous Photograph of Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain lit up at dusk
The fountain’s official name is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. On August 26, 1927, Kate Sturges Buckingham dedicated the structure to the people of Chicago in memory of her brother, Clarence. She donated one million dollars to the Fountain and established the Buckingham Fountain Endowment Fund to pay for its maintenance. The Fountain officially opened to the public on May 26, 1927.

The Buckingham Fountain consists of four basins composed of carved granite and pink Georgia marble. The bottom pool of the fountain is about 280 feet in diameter, with a 103-foot lower basin, a 60-foot middle basin, and a 24-foot upper basin.

Beaux arts architect Edward H. Bennett designed the Fountain with French sculptor Marcel Loyau and engineer Jacques H. Lambert. Its design was inspired by the Bassin de Latome and modeled after Latona Fountain at Versailles. The Buckingham Fountain however, is twice the size and recirculates approximately three times more water than Latona Fountain.

The Fountain is considered Chicago’s front door, located at Columbus Drive and Congress Parkway. It symbolizes Lake Michigan and four sea horses on the structure represent the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, that border the lake.

In 1994, the fountain received about $2 million to restore its three smallest basins, which developed leaks due to Chicago’s winters. Recent renovation on the under drainage system, landscaping, lighting and bronze elements of Buckingham Fountain that began in September 2008 has not been completed due to lack of funds.

For more information about images of Buckingham Fountain, please, contact us at 312-666-9797.